Archives
June 2009
It's finally summer, and we heat things up with our June issue! Our main topic is the Power Trio, and we bring you content on making good decisions and producing fine tracks with guitar, bass, and drums.
In this issue, we have guitar wisdom old and new, as we look at the tone and technique of Eric Clapton and interview Dan Vickrey of Counting Crows. Our Bass Column introduces us to the most famous, often-recorded, and influential bass player you may never have heard of... Los Angeles studio legend Carol Kaye. And in our Drum Column, we consider how a single choice can impact an entire drum recording session, and spill over into the sound and workflow of an entire album. Great food for thought all around!
Added to that, we have an in-depth look at a Nashville-based studio team that set out to reimagine a classic rock album of the early 1970s, and a whole slate of cool reviews on everything from portable digital recording to guitar tuning, bass amp modeling, and awesome mastering. Whatever your tastes, you'll find something to power your tracks to perfection in the June Recording!
Pick it up now on the newsstand... and so you get your next issue early (and save on cost), why not hit the big red Subscribe Now button on this page and have RECORDING delivered to your door each month?
Recording with Counting Crows' Dan Vickrey
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Interviewed by
Jessica Klausing with Lorenz Rychner
Recording with Counting Crows' Dan Vickrey |
Interviewed by
Jessica Klausing with Lorenz Rychner
A famous band's home-studio methods.
When Counting Crows emerged from the San Francisco Bay area in the early ’90s, home studios were not nearly as common as they are now. Counting Crows is one of the most successful bands t......Expand
A famous band's home-studio methods.
When Counting Crows emerged from the San Francisco Bay area in the early ’90s, home studios were not nearly as common as they are now. Counting Crows is one of the most successful bands to have created music in a home studio. The band made reference to their albums as being recorded “in a big house on a hill”, beginning with their first multi-platinum selling album August and Everything After. Counting Crows continue making groundbreaking albums, such as their newest release Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. I had the pleasure of speaking with Counting Crows’ lead guitarist Dan Vickrey during a telephone interview, and learned about how the band turns ideas into albums at home, with an emphasis on getting signature guitar sounds thanks to Dan’s role in the band....
To read more, pick up the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Zoom H4n Handy Recorder
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Zoom H4n Handy Recorder |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
New design plus new features equals a new portable recording experience.
We could go all the way back to the PS-02 and PS-04 Palmtop Studios (reviewed July 2001 and August 2004) to establish Zoom’s credentials in the realm o......Expand
New design plus new features equals a new portable recording experience.
We could go all the way back to the PS-02 and PS-04 Palmtop Studios (reviewed July 2001 and August 2004) to establish Zoom’s credentials in the realm of recording devices any guitarist could toss in a gig bag, but the recorder that really got everyone’s attention was the H4 Handy Recorder, reviewed in our May 2007 issue. It was a true 4-track recorder, combining a built-in XY mic array with a pair of XLR mic inputs, and had built-in effects and USB interfacing/data-download capabilities as well as guitarist-friendly features like a tuner and metronome. But we downchecked the H4 for its small and cramped display, its one-way USB card reading, and especially its hard-to-use controls, with a central “hat switch” that was too easily mis-pressed to cause all manner of unwanted mistakes.
Well, you have to say this about Zoom: they listened, and they delivered. The H2 we reviewed in September 2008 (the successor to the H4) sported a completely redesigned user interface, a very cool four-capsule mic array for stereo and surround recording, improved interfacing with computers, and more. It almost obsoleted the H4... only almost, because it lacked the H4’s pro-studio mic connectivity, and because the H2’s line-level inputs, set to the “prosumer” –10 dBV standard, couldn’t handle +4 dBu signals without clipping unless an external pad was applied.
At NAMM 2009, Zoom rolled out the H4n. The “n” stands for “next”, but we would argue that it could easily stand for “new place to set the bar for recorders of this type”. This thing does so many recording and interfacing tasks it’s almost scary, and it does them all anywhere from very well to brilliantly. Let’s check it out....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Reviewed and Revisited: iZotope Ozone 4
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Reviewed by
Devon Brent
Reviewed and Revisited: iZotope Ozone 4 |
Reviewed by
Devon Brent
New enhancements to a well-liked mastering effects suite.
Talk about a long wait for an upgrade! Ozone 4 took over five years to come to fruition since Ozone 3’s release in November 2003. As iZotope’s webpage suggests, “Your......Expand
New enhancements to a well-liked mastering effects suite.
Talk about a long wait for an upgrade! Ozone 4 took over five years to come to fruition since Ozone 3’s release in November 2003. As iZotope’s webpage suggests, “Your mix isn’t finished until you put it through Ozone.” As a regular user of Ozone 2 and 3 since 2003, I found this to be a true statement for the last five years. Let’s look at what Ozone 4 brings to the table this time around....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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JBL Control 2P Monitors
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
JBL Control 2P Monitors |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
A time-honored design gets a significant update.
The JBL Control 1 desktop speaker has been around forever, it seems. When it first shipped in 1986, there were nowhere near as many small desktop-audio solutions as there are ......Expand
A time-honored design gets a significant update.
The JBL Control 1 desktop speaker has been around forever, it seems. When it first shipped in 1986, there were nowhere near as many small desktop-audio solutions as there are today; there’s something to the argument that the Control 1 really formed the market we now enjoy, as a small and portable speaker that could deliver good levels from a relatively small amp, could be set on a desktop, mounted on a wall, or carried from place to place, yet gave consistent audio results wherever it was set down.
The updated Control 1 Pro is still in JBL’s catalog today, but it’s been joined now by the Control 2P, with the “P” standing for “powered”. Since most of today’s small speaker systems carry their own amplification, it was natural for JBL to want to offer this convenience and matched-component reliability in a form that audio professionals would recognize and like. I got to live with a pair of Control 2P speakers for several weeks, and here’s what I found....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Sonodore RCM-402 Microphone
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Reviewed by
Scott Dorsey
Sonodore RCM-402 Microphone |
Reviewed by
Scott Dorsey
A historic mic design takes on a 21st-Century shine.
Once again I am going to enhance a mic review with a long historical digression. I need to do this, because the mic under review is an unusual item today, but one that com......Expand
A historic mic design takes on a 21st-Century shine.
Once again I am going to enhance a mic review with a long historical digression. I need to do this, because the mic under review is an unusual item today, but one that comes from a long design tradition of very high quality. It’s important to understand the basic constraints that went into the design, and for that I direct you to the sidebar. Come back when you’re ready and we’ll take a closer look at the Sonodore RCM-402....
Learn the history of this amazing mic and read the rest of the review in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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RECORDING's Showcase of Sounds
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Reviewed by
Kevin Fletcher Tweedy
RECORDING's Showcase of Sounds |
Reviewed by
Kevin Fletcher Tweedy
Heavyocity EVOLVE.
The evolution of this sound library goes back to 2003, when partners Dave Fraser and Neil Goldberg joined forces to create a company that initially supplied content for commercials and games. Their years o......Expand
Heavyocity EVOLVE.
The evolution of this sound library goes back to 2003, when partners Dave Fraser and Neil Goldberg joined forces to create a company that initially supplied content for commercials and games. Their years of developing sounds resulted in EVOLVE, a sound library that goes way beyond the symphonic realm, more in the style of the music tracks for the CSI TV series than the more traditional Law and Order symphonic background.
The product has matured since its first showing in January 2008 at NAMM and its release in May, with Update 1 out in June and two Expanded Content releases....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Plug-in Outlet
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Reviewed by
Fernando Curiel
Plug-in Outlet |
Reviewed by
Fernando Curiel
Markbass Mark Studio 1.
It’s not too often that we have an Italian company grace our pages; just as Italy has produced many great musicians, here we find a high level of quality in these software emulations of the Italian ba......Expand
Markbass Mark Studio 1.
It’s not too often that we have an Italian company grace our pages; just as Italy has produced many great musicians, here we find a high level of quality in these software emulations of the Italian bass-amp manufacturer Markbass.
Markbass was born in 2001 and now has an extensive list of bass players around the world that use them regularly, including Michael Manring, Jeff Berlin and Matt Bissonette. The product under review, Mark Studio 1 software, is said to faithfully reproduce the tonal characteristics of the Markbass amps. Let’s dig deeper....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Peterson StroboStomp2
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Peterson StroboStomp2 |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Accurate tuning that adapts to your instrument, an active DI box, and more.
All tuners are not created equal. If you have several instruments playing together, each of which has been tuned from a different reference, you end......Expand
Accurate tuning that adapts to your instrument, an active DI box, and more.
All tuners are not created equal. If you have several instruments playing together, each of which has been tuned from a different reference, you end up with an open “G” being ever-so-slightly different on every instrument in the session, leading to muddy and indistinct sound that has nothing to do with your effects or amp settings. Good sound starts with the instrument, and improper tuning can’t be corrected down the line.
For years, Peterson has made highly accurate strobe tuners that savvy studio owners know to keep handy. In November 2007, Justin Peacock had a great time reviewing the StroboFlip, a flip-open tuner that easily stows in a drawer. For this issue with its emphasis on guitar and bass, I took a look at the StroboStomp 2, which builds Peterson’s tuner technology—and a good-sounding active DI for easy tracking/reamping—into a handy and rugged metal stompbox....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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CEntrance AxePort Pro
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
CEntrance AxePort Pro |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Instant computer gratification--guitar in, headphones out.
CEntrance first made its appearance in these pages in a review of the MicPort Pro (July 2008). Long known as a maker of hardware and software components used inside ......Expand
Instant computer gratification--guitar in, headphones out.
CEntrance first made its appearance in these pages in a review of the MicPort Pro (July 2008). Long known as a maker of hardware and software components used inside audio products sold by other companies, CEntrance released the MicPort Pro as its first product marketed directly to customers. It was a 1-in/2-out USB device that allowed any microphone, even ones using phantom power, to be attached to any computer, with built-in headphone monitoring and up to 24-bit/96 kHz A/D and D/A conversion.
Well before the MicPort Pro shipped, CEntrance was showing prototypes of its second product, the AxePort Pro, at trade shows, and I was excited to get my hands on one for a test. Put simply, the AxePort Pro is designed to do for guitars what the MicPort Pro does for mics—get their signals into computers with no fuss, and let you hear the results....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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In The Studio: Recreating a Prog Rock Classic
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Written by
Mark Hornsby
In The Studio: Recreating a Prog Rock Classic |
Written by
Mark Hornsby
A famous Genesis song from the early 1970s is reinvented by a Nashville-based studio band that employs old-fashioned studio techniques alongside modern technology.
It’s one thing to record a cover song. It’s another thing to......Expand
A famous Genesis song from the early 1970s is reinvented by a Nashville-based studio band that employs old-fashioned studio techniques alongside modern technology.
It’s one thing to record a cover song. It’s another thing to record and reinterpret a song. And yet it’s an entirely different thing to re-imagine an eight-minute roller coaster of tempo changes, chaotic melody lines, time signature changes and intricate solo work. “The Colony of Slippermen” from the Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is one of those songs. Never heard of it? Well, if you’re not a big Genesis fan, let me assure you it’s a far cry from “I Can’t Dance”.
“The Lamb” was the last album Genesis recorded with Peter Gabriel before they parted ways. It’s a twenty-three song progressive rock concept album with enough musical summits to trump even the best musicians. “Slippermen” shows up about halfway through the second half of the album. Re-creating it note for note is a challenge in and of itself. Re-inventing it while being true to form is a much bigger headache....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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RECORDING's Guitar Column
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Written by
Joe Albano
RECORDING's Guitar Column |
Written by
Joe Albano
In Part 1 of a new series on famous guitar tones, we take a look at the long and storied tonal history of Eric Clapton.
Among the most frequently-asked questions that studio engineers hear from guitarists is “How did such-an......Expand
In Part 1 of a new series on famous guitar tones, we take a look at the long and storied tonal history of Eric Clapton.
Among the most frequently-asked questions that studio engineers hear from guitarists is “How did such-and-such player get that sound?”, and its frequent followup “How can I get that sound?” It’s often been noted that the best guitarists could all play through the same rig, and each one would make it sound unique. But at the same time there are certain guitar sounds and setups that are classic—starting points in various musical styles for each player to find his/her own voice.
In this series of columns, we’ll look at a few of these—some musical examples, the players most associated with each sound, and how to approach getting that kind of tonality yourself with the proper choice of guitar models, pickups, amps, effects. I’ll take a similar approach to Dave Martin’s ongoing Bass Columns, but will take a broader view of the work of particular artists and styles rather than particular sessions. Hey, it’s how I roll.
To start off, it makes sense to take a look at one of the icons of guitar and his sound—I thought a good kick-off choice would be Eric Clapton. Now of course, forests have already been leveled writing about such performers (Clapton, Hendrix, etc.), but Clapton’s been around long enough to have run through a boatload of different guitars and amps. His style is always unmistakable, but the actual sound of his rig, and the gear he used to achieve it, has changed periodically over the years. So let’s take a look at Clapton’s changing guitar sound over the last 40 years, and how to achieve those various tones today....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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RECORDING's Bass Column
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Written by
Dave Martin
RECORDING's Bass Column |
Written by
Dave Martin
Our series on famous bassists and famous tracks continues, with the only bassist in the world prominent enough for a 2-part writeup...and the name might surprise you.
She has played on more than 10,000 sessions during her ye......Expand
Our series on famous bassists and famous tracks continues, with the only bassist in the world prominent enough for a 2-part writeup...and the name might surprise you.
She has played on more than 10,000 sessions during her years as a session musician; her credits read like a Who’s Who of the music scene. From Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Sonny and Cher, Nancy Sinatra, and Glen Campbell to Simon and Garfunkel, the Monkees, and even Don Ho—all have recordings that benefited from her innovative bass work....
Who is it? Find out in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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RECORDING's Drum Column
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Written by
Dave Martin
RECORDING's Drum Column |
Written by
Dave Martin
Sometimes a drum session of a thousand mics begins with a single decision.
A producer friend booked some time a couple of months ago to record some tracks for his client. I asked him what he’d like me to set up on the drums.......Expand
Sometimes a drum session of a thousand mics begins with a single decision.
A producer friend booked some time a couple of months ago to record some tracks for his client. I asked him what he’d like me to set up on the drums. He told me to leave up my normal miking setup and we’d work from there...
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING! (You won't want to miss this story, and you may not believe what you're hearing!)
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Fade Out
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Written by
Scott Dorsey
Fade Out |
Written by
Scott Dorsey
The Future of Bass Control?
Small rooms invariably have low-end problems, because low frequencies are reflected from the walls, bounce back, and are combined with the original signal. Because it takes some time for them to ......Expand
The Future of Bass Control?
Small rooms invariably have low-end problems, because low frequencies are reflected from the walls, bounce back, and are combined with the original signal. Because it takes some time for them to travel, they are delayed when they combine with the original signal, so they form a comb filter that makes some frequencies louder and others softer.
Because the delays change as you move around the room, so do the filter characteristics, so you may find one note is very loud in one part of the room but quiet in another....
Read more in the June 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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